CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is stepping down as the national co-chair of the new No Labels party, just days after the independent group decided to move forward with a presidential ticket in the 2024 election.
McCrory joined the party last summer, urging voters to "wake up" to avoid being pushed into a Republican or Democrat candidate who he says wouldn't have their best interests at heart.
“I gave it my all for over a year as volunteer co-chair, but it is now time to move on,” McCrory told NBC News. “I wish the best for the No Labels movement, the wonderful teammates I worked with and all those throughout the country who know that now more than ever, we must put country over party at all levels of government.”
No Labels said it was waiting until the results of Super Tuesday to make any decisions about a 2024 ticket. With President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump having enough delegates to clinch their respective nominations, it's unclear who No Labels will consider for its third-party run.
McCrory told Flashpoint last year that he hoped the two parties would align more with "what the American people want." The former governor said he wasn't encouraged by what he'd seen from his Republican colleagues when they voted to censure Sen. Thom Tillis for supporting legislation that compromised with Democrats in Washington.
McCrory said compromise is essential to effective governing, even though it's not politically popular. He said politicians should be focused on results, not partisan labels.
"The labeling is killing us in politics," he said.
McCrory served one term as North Carolina's governor. His tenure was marred by the House Bill 2 controversy that resulted in dozens of corporations threatening to boycott the state, as well as the NBA pulling its All-Star weekend out of Charlotte. McCrory also lost support over the toll lanes on Interstate 77, which may have helped swing the 2016 election to Roy Cooper. Prior to that, McCrory served as Charlotte's mayor from 1995 until 2009. He remains the longest-serving mayor in Charlotte history.
Flashpoint is a weekly in-depth look at politics in Charlotte, North Carolina, South Carolina, and beyond with host Ben Thompson. Listen to the podcast weekly.
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